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Re: Keppinger fractures knee

40 games is not enough to tell me Kepp is better, when I have years worth of data to prove otherwise.

We all know Dunn is slumping and Kepp is playing great through 40 games. But with that said, even with Kepp playing great and Dunn struggling, there is not much that separates them offensively.

Kepp .819 OPS (3 HR, 21 RBI) .809 OPS

Dunn .739 (6 HR, 19 RBI) career .894 OPS.

We all know it's a matter of time before Dunn surpasses him. To claim Kepp is better based on 2 months is short-sighted, IMO and a that kind of short-sightedness has been a thorn in this franchise's side for years.

For his career, Griffey's been much better than Keppinger too...just sayin'

Keppinger's been producing his numbers consistently for the past 2 seasons...do you think it's an aberration of his actual skills??...just asking...

I understand the career success of Dunn...I'm not saying that Keppinger is a better player for his career...but he's been SUBSTANTIALLY better for the Reds this season IMHO and it is a major blow to our club...

And I wish I could share your faith about Dunn...I want to, I really do...but at some point this year, he must produce more than he is doing at present...

Our club would be best served with Kepp's 2 year production continuing AND Dunn producing the mid-lineup value necessary for a player of his financial encumbrance to the organization...

But no, I do understand that Adam Dunn is historically a better player than Jeff Keppinger...

You cannot defeat an ignorant man in an argument!
-William Gibbs McAdoo

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

What makes Keppinger valuable is that he hits that way for a shortstop.

If you move him to the outfield, he would lose value, so to compare him to Adam Dunn is not fair and truthfully, pointless.

Akinori Iwamura has tremendous value as a second baseman, not so much as a third baseman.

For me, when looking at someone's value, I look at the comps by position, not just some random player on the team, especially one playing a position that plays what is generally considered a power position.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

It wouldn't even have been brought up had it not been for the several that mentioned Keppinger as the best player (or one of the best players) on the team, with Dunn excluded.

I think they will be fine with Janish. Better glove. Weaker bat. But the reason Kepp has been so valuable has been the slumping of Griffey and Dunn and I would bet that their bats will wake up to coincide with the arrival of Janish and his weaker (than Keppinger's) bat.

I honestly don't think this team's fortunes are ruined because Keppinger is out.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

I honestly don't think this team's fortunes are ruined because Keppinger is out.

Of course not -- he'll be out a couple months in a transitional year. In the short term, for the team to play well, Griffey and Dunn are going to have to start hitting. That was the case before Kepp got hurt, too. That's mainly where this team's fortunes ride, not on Keppinger's back.

"Baseball is a very, very complex business. It's more of a people business than most businesses." - Bob Castellini

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

I am confident Dunn will start tearing it up. He is close right now and just missing, but getting good wood on the ball.

Junior? Not so sure, but between him and Bruce I'm sure one of them will get hot and help carry this team (with Dunn). Add those to Votto, Phillips, and Encarnacion and you got the makings of a pretty potent lineup when it all comes around.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

Originally Posted by TRF

I didn't read all 7 pages, but has anyone proposed Phillips to SS, Freel to 2B?

Seems like that fixes the leadoff spot and the D up the middle.

I would do that as I think Phillips would handle SS just fine. However, while Phillips would most likely be an upgrade defensively at SS over Keppinger, the drop off from Phillips to Freel at 2B would be huge.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

Originally Posted by deltachi8

I would do that as I think Phillips would handle SS just fine. However, while Phillips would most likely be an upgrade defensively at SS over Keppinger, the drop off from Phillips to Freel at 2B would be huge.

Would it be more or less than the drop-off from Kepp to Janish overall??...not that I'm advocating, but if the Phillips SS-Freel/Hairston 2B combo is better than Janish SS-Phillips 2B, then why not??...

Also, if Freel moves to 2B, it potentially expedites Bruce's callup, of which I'm all for...

You cannot defeat an ignorant man in an argument!
-William Gibbs McAdoo

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

Originally Posted by coachw513

Would it be more or less than the drop-off from Kepp to Janish overall??...not that I'm advocating, but if the Phillips SS-Freel/Hairston 2B combo is better than Janish SS-Phillips 2B, then why not??...

Also, if Freel moves to 2B, it potentially expedites Bruce's callup, of which I'm all for...

Hopefully someone else can answer better than I can as i have not seen enough of Janish to have an opinion there. I have seen phillips play SS a few times in AAA and thought he would be an above average SS at the Major League level.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

Originally Posted by coachw513

Would it be more or less than the drop-off from Kepp to Janish overall??...not that I'm advocating, but if the Phillips SS-Freel/Hairston 2B combo is better than Janish SS-Phillips 2B, then why not??...

Also, if Freel moves to 2B, it potentially expedites Bruce's callup, of which I'm all for...

IMO, I think Janish may very well be the best defensive shortstop the Reds have throughout their entire organization, from instructional league all the way up to the majors.

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

While I never like to see anyone get injured and I think Jeff Keppinger deserves a ton of credit for clawing his way into the majors, the unpleasant truth of the Reds at the moment is they rank 30th in MLB in DER at .676. Deficient defense is still crippling this club and Jeff Keppinger simply is not a major league SS.

Whether Janish will play and whether his glove will be as good as advertised (e.g. unlike Rainer Olmedo, Gookie Dawkins, Freddie Benavides, Kurt Stillwell, etc.) we'll see. A .600ish OPS would undo anything a good glove would add, but I suspect plus defense at shortstop would render some dramatic improvement on the IF.

Baseball isn't a magic trick ... it doesn't get spoiled if you figure out how it works. - gonelong

Re: Keppinger fractures knee

I think Volquez will benefit the most among Reds starters of the upgrade defensively at SS with Janish. Volquez is a strikeout pitcher first (10.61 K/9) but he also induces a solid amount of groundballs (62 GO/33 FO or a 1.88 G/F ratio). I'll miss Keppinger's bat badly but the defensive upgrade from Kepp to Janish will be welcoming. Hopefully Dusty does the right thing and starts Janish at SS and bats him 8th everyday.

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